Of the 24 Pennsylvania stations served by Amtrak, the 30th Street Station was by far the busiest for the Fiscal Year 2013, boarding or detraining an average of approximately 11,303 passengers daily (almost twice the number of passengers of the other 23 Pennsylvania stations combined) and is Amtrak's overall 3rd-busiest station.[8]

The former West Philadelphia station being removed in 1931 during construction of 30th Street Station

The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), which was headquartered in Philadelphia, acquired tunnel rights from the Schuylkill River to 15th Street from the city of Philadelphia in return for land that the city needed to construct the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. This allowed the company to build both Suburban Station and the 30th Street Station,[9] which replaced Broad Street Station as the latter was too small. Broad St. Station was a stub-end terminal in Center City and through trains had to back in and out, and the company wanted a location which would accommodate trains between New York City and Washington. D.C. Broad St. Station also handled a large commuter operation, which the new underground Suburban Station was built to handle. (Because of the Depression and World War II, Broad St. Station didn't close until 1952.)[10]

The Chicago architectural firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White, the successor to D.H. Burnham & Company,[9] designed the structure, originally known as Pennsylvania Station–30th Street in accord with the naming style of other Pennsylvania Stations. Its design was influenced by the Northeast Corridor electrification that allowed trains to pass beneath the station without exposing passengers to soot as steam engines of earlier times had. The station had a number of innovative features, including a pneumatic tube system, an electronic intercom, and a reinforced roof with space for small aircraft to land,[11] and contained a mortuary, a chapel and more than 3,000 square feet of hospital space.[9]

Construction began in 1927 and the station opened in 1933, starting with two platform tracks.[6] The vast waiting room is faced with travertine and the coffered ceiling is painted gold, red and cream. The building's exterior has columned porte-cocheres on the west and east facade, and shows a balance between classical and modern architectural styles.[9]

In 2005, Philadelphia-based Pew Charitable Trust asked Amtrak to change the name of 30th Street Station to "Ben Franklin Station"[12] as part of the celebration of Ben Franklin's 300th birthday in January 2006. The cost of replacing signs at the station was estimated at $3 million.

In January, Philadelphia Mayor John Street threw his support behind the name change, but others had mixed reactions to the proposal. Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, a former mayor of Philadelphia, was lukewarm, while Amtrak officials worried that a "Ben" station could be confused with its other three "Penn" stations.[13] On January 25, 2006, Pew abandoned the campaign, giving no reason.[13]

In August 2014, a federal law was passed that will change the name of the station to the William H. Gray III 30th Street Station in honor of the late congressman. At the time, the change was scheduled to occur "in the next few months".[14]

The building is owned by Amtrak and houses many Amtrak corporate offices, although Amtrak is officially headquartered at Union Station in Washington, D.C. The 562,000 ft² (52,000 m²) facility features a cavernous main passenger concourse with ornate Art Deco decor.

The building was restored in 1991 by Dan Peter Kopple & Associates.[9] When the station was renovated, updated retail amenities were added. They include several shops, a large food court, car rental facilities, Saxbys Coffee, Dunkin' Donuts, and others.

The Amtrak 30th Street Parking Garage was designed by BLT Architects and completed in 2004. This nine-level, double helix garage provides 2,100 parking spaces and glass-enclosed stair tower and elevator to offer views of Philadelphia.[15] The following year (2005) the Arch Street Pedestrian Bridge was completed and designed with contribution from BLT Architects. The Arch Street Pedestrian Bridge provides direct access for pedestrians from 30th Street Station to the parking garage and Cira Centre; this prevents pedestrians from interacting with heavy traffic from PA 3 and I-76.[16]

SEPTA's Market-Frankford Line (also known as the "El") and all of SEPTA's Subway-Surface Lines stop at the 30th Streetsubway station, less than 1/2 block (< 1/10 mile) from the southwest entrance to 30th Street Station. A tunnel connecting the underground subway station and 30th Street Station was closed in the 1980s.[17]

A number of the SEPTA system's bus lines include stops at the station on their routes.

Cira Centre, a 28-story glass-and-steel office tower opened in October 2005, is across Arch Street to the north and is connected by a skyway at the station's mezzanine level next to the upper-level SEPTA Regional Rail platforms. The tower is owned by Philadelphia-based Brandywine Realty Trust, was designed by architect César Pelli and BLT Architects,[15][16] and sits on land leased from Amtrak.

The station has one of Amtrak's four ClubAcelas, which are open to Amtrak Guest Rewards members with a ClubAcela pass, Amtrak Guest Rewards Select Plus and Select Executive members, Acela Express first-class passengers, sleeping car passengers on overnight trains, and United Airlines United Club members.

Zipcar and PhillyCarShare vehicles are outside 30th Street Station, mostly in reserved parking spaces on the south side of the station or, during construction, in the controlled-access parking lot outside Cira Centre.